Showing results by narrator "Emily Ellet" in All Categories

Mandy Dyer is more than ready to give up her second career as an amateur sleuth. After all, she has an in-demand dry cleaners to run! But when her cousin Laura comes in and asks for Mandy’s help locating a coat she lost in a restaurant, Mandy can’t say no. Besides, it seems like a fairly harmless investigation—until a hit-and-run driver nearly takes Laura out. And when Mandy heads to Laura’s apartment to cheer her up while she heals from a broken leg, Mandy is suddenly attacked by an unknown assailant.

Learning her dear friend and valued customer Thelma Chadwick is dead is one thing, but when Denver dry cleaner Mandy Dyer discovers the sweet old woman left her a cryptic message and a bag of clothes that Mandy has never seen—nor cleaned—she is awash in suspicion. Thelma knew Mandy had a hand in solving mysteries in town—Was she asking Mandy to use her sleuthing skills to find her killer? And if so, were the unusual buttons that covered the dresses Thelma left in her care some kind of clue?

When Det. Stan Foster shows up at Mandy Dyer’s dry cleaning shop, Mandy hopes her one-time boyfriend has come back to win her heart. Instead, he soothes her ego by asking for her help with his homicide investigation. But if Stan thinks she’ll walk away from the case after answering his inquiry, he’s dead wrong. Because these days, Mandy is as famous for her amateur sleuthing skills as she is for her freshly pressed clothes. Mandy’s investigation puts her in touch with a colorful cast of characters, from Betty the Bag Lady to Harpo the Mime.

Dry cleaning entrepreneur Mandy Dyer has a spotless reputation as a business owner—and as a part-time amateur sleuth. Yet when the body of her sleazy business rival is discovered hanging from a conveyor belt in her cleaning plant, Mandy is the lead suspect. So much for making a good impression on sexy homicide detective Stan Foster. But Mandy isn’t the kind to turn away from a tough spot. Instead, she begins searching for the real culprit, starting with the colorful cast of characters she calls her employees.

Mandy Dyer is feeling the heat—and not just because she’s the owner of Dyer’s Dry Cleaners. When she discovers that her dear friend Kate Bosworth has been strangled by a vintage scarf, Mandy has a real mess on her hands. Days earlier, Kate had brought an antique gown into Dyer’s for a cleaning. The dress was a 1920s Fortuny that Kate claimed was worth thousands, but she’d gotten for a steal—and it may have cost Kate her life.

Moving to Hawthorne was something Tess and her mom never anticipated, but after Tess's mom loses her job, it's their only option. Tess's grandparents welcome them into their home, on the condition that Tess and her mom attend church, something Mom isn't too pleased about. But Tess enjoys the church community, finding a place in youth group and the church choir. Faith fills a void Tess didn't know she had. After a very personal decision goes public, Tess faces daily harassment and rejection by her former friends, and singing in the church choir is no longer an option.

SHORT STORY: A sister in the far future, when we no longer burn things for fuel, finds a forbidden thing that would make the perfect gift. The Day We Stopped Burning is one of six short solarpunk stories in the Halfway to Better collection. If you enjoyed the optimistic climate solutions in Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future or the cozy cooperative future in Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series, you will enjoy Halfway to Better.

SHORT STORY: At the bottom of the sea, a trawler crawls across an abyssal plain, carefully cleaning microplastics off the ancient mineral-rich nodules, when the crew finds something that shouldn't be possible. Slimy Things Did Crawl is one of six short solarpunk stories in the Halfway to Better collection.

SHORT STORY: Humanity has left the cities to live in the "greenbelt," but a young woman's curiosity brings her back to the bot-patrolled streets where human beings used to live... until she gets caught. Tombs Without Bodies is one of six short solarpunk stories in the Halfway to Better collection. If you enjoyed the optimistic climate solutions in Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future or the cozy cooperative future in Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series, you will enjoy Halfway to Better.

SHORT STORY: A cute technician keeps breaking things in her too-shiny lab, then calling a fixer in for repairs. Zita's a certified member of the International Guild of Repair Workers, Local 772, and she's certain this hot girl is breaking her toys on purpose. But why? Something very sexy but very weird is going on...

SHORT STORY: Living in a flooded lighthouse is probably illegal, but no one has come to kick her out, so she keeps furtively tending the oyster beds and feeding the crows. But when a storm brings an unexpected, and unwelcome, visitor, her time in this final refuge might be at an end. Planting the Shell-Bones is one of six short solarpunk stories in the Halfway to Better collection. If you enjoyed the optimistic climate solutions in Kim Stanley Robinson's Ministry for the Future or the cozy cooperative future in Becky Chambers' Monk and Robot series, you will enjoy Halfway to Better.